A guide to handicap betting
When it comes to Dota handicap betting, there’s a few things you need to know before you get started with this form of betting. Luckily for you, we’ve got you covered – take a look right here.
Our Dota handicap betting guide will hopefully give you everything you need to know about handicap betting, and how it’s applied to Dota. We’re also going to give you a few pieces of advice – because we’re nice like that. As well as all of that, we’ll discuss all the different types of betting available to you.
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What is Handicap Betting?
Let’s take it all the way to the absolute basics, so we’re all on the same page and have a foundation of understanding when it comes to handicap betting. Handicap betting is usually a betting option on many bookmakers’ sites, and is a way of levelling the playing fields, so to speak.
We found that the official definition of ‘handicap’ is “a circumstance that makes success difficult”. In terms of online gambling, when there is a clear favourite in a matchup, bookmakers will put a handicap market in place, meaning a player/team will have to meet certain criteria for your bet to be successful.
It’s an added option for bettors, which makes matches with strong favourites more appealing to bet on. If a team is very, very likely to win, their odds won’t be an appealing sight, and odds would be lower than evens, which isn’t even
It’s also worth noting that you may see ‘spreads’ as an option. Spreads is an alternative name for handicap bets, so if you’re ever getting confused between the two, just remember – they’re exactly the same.
Example
Let’s say we have a football match between Team A and Team B. Team A is the strong favourite, with odds of 1/10. Meanwhile, Team B is not likely to win the game, and has odds of 20/1.
Bookmakers could offer a handicap market of: Team A (-2) with 2/1 odds, and Team B (+2) with 1/1 odds. Here, Team A would have to win by 3 goals or more for your bet to be successful.
Easy, right?
Asian Handicap Betting
So now you know about spreads, there’s also another handicap that’s worth having an understanding about – Asian handicap lines. This handicap is a form of spread betting, and has a very similar structure to it, but we promise there is a difference.
As you may have guessed, it is a very popular betting market in, you guessed it, Asia. The system originated in Indonesia to be exact, and has increased in popularity since the start of the 21st century.
Asian handicap betting reduces the number of outcomes of a particular match, eliminating the draw outcome. Therefore, bookies will deliver two betting options that both have a success rate of close to 50%. This makes it a much closer matchup, with the strong favourite having to win by a considerable amount for a bet placed on them to be successful. The positive to that, though, is the fact that the returns of a successful bet will be much greater.
For Dota, this is also a common form of betting, with a draw not being an option – there will be a winner and loser of each Dota match.
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Dota 2 Handicap Betting
If a team is looking a strong favourite in a Dota match and/or tournament, bookmakers may offer some form of handicap bet available to make the odds more appealing to bettors.
As we mentioned, there has to be a winner and loser of each Dota match, meaning the Asian handicap betting options are more common for betting on esports, with most of the popular esports titles having a definitive winner and loser of each match.
When you’re looking to place a bet on Dota, and you’re wanting to use the handicap betting options, we recommend doing some Dota research to improve your esport knowledge and understanding. This way, you’ll have a much more informed decision-making process, and will be able to decide if a team is looking as strong as the odds suggest.
Things to Consider with Dota Handicap Betting
Find the perfect bookmaker for you
When you’re first starting out, there’s a chance you can be overwhelmed with the amount of choices you have when deciding what bookmaker you’re going to place a bet with. There’s more operators than ever before in the gambling industry, a sector that is continuing to rise. On top of that, the esports betting world has been introduced in recent times, and this has been an even quicker rise in popularity. At Strafe, we recommend looking at a number of bookmakers and comparing them to see which bookie best suits your betting wants and needs. To help, we’ve dedicated a section on our site to bookmaker reviews – where we discuss which operators we think are worth looking at.
Build your Dota knowledge
One way of benefitting your Dota betting experience is to constantly be building on your Dota knowledge and understanding. This way, you’ll become much more familiar with players, teams and playing strategies. From all of this information, you can adapt and adjust your betting strategy to match up with your Dota understanding. For example, if a certain team tends to attack from the very start of a match, whilst the enemy team looks to build on their defensive strategy first, then don’t you think the ‘first blood’ market can be looked at? We certainly think so. Also, if you get to know the teams and their form, placing bets on tournaments and competitions could be an option for you.
Dota live handicap betting options
The esports live betting world is growing rapidly, and Dota is among the esports where live betting is flourishing. We think in-play betting on Dota is a great betting experience for all esports punters. On top of this, you will build your Dota knowledge – like we mentioned earlier – as you will be familiar with what happens during Dota matches. If that wasn’t enough, watching Dota matches live (either via your own stream or through a bookie’s free streaming service) will give you a greater understanding to place in-game wagers.
Understand the odds
Being able to read different forms of odds is crucial when it comes to Dota betting, and it’s especially key for handicap betting. Once you have a good understanding of handicap betting, and how this form of betting works, you will be able to make better decisions as to if you want to place a bet on a handicap betting market. In general, knowing how to interpret odds will be very beneficial for your betting, and could, in some cases, be the difference between winning and losing a bet on Dota.
Consider Dota matches and tournaments
Fortunately for us esports fans, Dota tournaments take place all year round, with the season being held over a large portion of the year. On top of that, there are a number of major Dota tournaments that are available to bet on, which benefits us even further. When you’re looking to place any form of bets, including handicap bets, you may want to consider which upcoming tournaments and competitions are happening. This way, your betting strategy can be planned, and you will be able to build on this. As well as that, you can research the latest tournament’s results, seeing which teams were successful and their performances, and can use this to influence your future Dota bets.
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Other Betting Types
Dota handicap betting is just one form of betting, and there’s more types when it comes to placing a bet on Dota. If you’re looking for a full, in-depth look into the Dota betting scene, we recommend checking out our Dota betting guide, where we discuss everything you need to know about betting on the popular esport.
Pre-Match
Before a Dota match begins, select bookmakers will offer a number of Dota markets available to customers. This includes the most common betting markets, including ‘match winner’ odds. If you’re looking to place a bet on the winner before it has started, and if you fancy your chances with your Dota understanding, then a lot of operators will cater for you.
Depending on the bookmaker, select operators will also offer you the chance to place your Dota bets on which player/team will get first blood in the upcoming match. This is another common betting market for Dota, which is very popular among esports punters.
These are just some of the options, and they vary from bookie to bookie. Some of the dedicated esports betting sites will look to offer more pre-match opportunities for customers, which is a great benefit if you’re wanting to bet on an upcoming Dota match.
Outright
Outright betting is where you look at the overall result of a particular match. So, if you feel like you have the knowledge and have done your Dota research, then you may want to place a bet on who’s going to win a selected match.
On top of that, many bookmakers also offer bettors like yourself the opportunity to place an outright bet on Dota tournament winners. As Dota is considered one of the most popular esports titles when it comes to betting, operators’ coverage of Dota 2 is nearly always extensive, which is great news for us.
Therefore, outright betting options are available on a lot of bookmakers’ sites, so if you’ve had a look at an upcoming Dota tournament, and you want to place a bet on the competition winner, this will be possible with most bookmakers. Furthermore, odds for this are usually better value before the tournament, as no one has entered the arena to battle, yet, meaning it’s much more difficult to assess, resulting in some generous odds.
Live Betting
The esports live betting scene is becoming increasingly popular, with many bookmakers now offering a lot more in-play betting markets than ever before. There’s now loads to choose from on a high number of betting sites when it comes to live betting markets.
Along with the same betting markets available before a match has started, multiple bookmakers will add to their markets, involving many other different event outcomes. Markets include ‘total kills’, ‘map winner’ and ‘over/under’ – just a few examples of what to expect when you go to place a live bet on Dota.
A number of bookies also offer a free live streaming service on their site for customers to tune in to watch their favourite esports action unfold. It’s a great benefit for esports bettors – being able to watch the best esports tournaments around whilst betting on them with a wide range of betting markets and some competitive odds? Yes please.
Find out more about how to bet live on Dota on our dedicated Dota live betting page.
Our Final Thoughts About Handicap Betting
Handicap betting in terms of Dota is an exciting addition for punters looking to take their esports betting to the next level. This form of betting is a great benefit for esports punters like yourself to get involved with those matches that are looking almost decided. With the adjusted odds, and a handicap in place, the particular match then looks more appealing to place a bet on.
With that said, Dota is a very competitive esport, and there is a very, very high level of competition in the major Dota tournaments. This means a strong favourite is rare, unless there is a very clear favourite. If that was the case, then you could look at the handicap betting option to enhance your Dota betting experience. Either way, we think that it’s a win-win situation, so if the handicap betting is a viable option to you, then by all means take advantage of it.
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Dota 2 Handicap Betting FAQs
❓ What is handicap betting?
Handicap betting, also known as spread betting, is a way of evening out the odds when there’s a strong favourite involved in a matchup. Specific criteria will be put in place for the favourite to meet, which in turn makes odds more competitive.
🎮 Is handicap betting available for Dota 2?
When it comes to esports, handicap betting is an available form of wagering. To find out what handicap betting options are available for Dota, read our Dota 2 handicap betting guide.
✅ Is handicap betting a good betting option?
When there’s a clear favourite in a particular matchup, the odds on offer won’t appeal to many bettors, as it is not worth the investment. Therefore, handicap betting offers an alternative market so punters can take their chances on just how much the favourite will win by. Another useful strategy that's definitely worth familiarising yourself with is the pick 3 esports betting strategy.
